Lights, Camera... Egyptology!

Keywords

Harvard’s resident Egyptologist, Peter Der Manuelian, wants students in his “Pyramid Schemes: The
Archaeological History of Ancient Egypt” course (discussed in an article on innovative uses of digital technology in the humanities) to get a bit more creative
than the standard five-paragraph essay. As a midterm project, each student creates an original video about a specific Egyptological problem. The projects, according to the course syllabus, are meant to “demonstrate scholarly content in visual form,”
as well as “encourage the creative translation of that scholarly content into
interactive multimedia presentations.”

Below are six iMovie examples from the past two
years.

“Ramesses…the
Great?” by Grant Wonders

Ramesses II is among the
most celebrated rulers in Egyptian history. Does he really deserve to be
called “great”?

“The
Eg-hip-t Show Presents: The Book of the Dead” by Andrew Coffman

The Eg-hip-t Show mimics the style of educational videos
directed at children and young teens and attempts to provide an entertaining introduction to The Book of the Dead and its place in ancient
Egyptian culture.

“Hetepheres: The Secret Tomb” by Cody Dales

A Bill O’Reilly impersonator debunks the myth of the all-powerful pharaoh Ramesses II at the battle against the Hittites at Kadesh.

“Egyptian Gangster: The Murder of King Tut” by Rachel Byrd

Egypt’s most famous rapper returns from the dead to unravel
the mystery behind his infamous murder.

“The First Pyramid” by Grant Wonders

A look at the remarkable “step pyramid” design pioneered during the reign of the Third Dynasty pharaoh Djoser.

“Love the Way We Vie” by Allison Ritterhaus

This music-video parody of the Eminem/Rihanna duet explores the complicated relationship between Ancient Rome and Egypt—in particular, how the last Ptolemaic queen, Cleopatra, became a convenient metaphor for domination even though the Romanization of Egypt was a slow process.